WARREN Q. HARDNQ
Warren G. Harding, our nation’s twenty-ninth President,
was a well-meaning man. He promised his nation, which
was troubled by inflation, a trip back to “normalcy” that
would restore the nation to conditions that existed prior to
the war. The main trouble was the vague term
“normalcy.” No one seemed to really know what the term
meant when measured quantitatively. Harding was elected at a time when, no doubt, any
Republican nominated would have been elected in protest against the policies of Woodrow
Wilson. The war just over, most wished to divorce themselves from the problems of the rest
of the world, and many people were not in favor of Wilson’s idealistic philosophy of American
society. The word “normalcy” couldn’t lose, as it meant different things to different people.
Harding was deceived by many of his corrupt friends and died in 1923. While still in office, he
was brokenhearted over the scandal many of his close friends had been a part of.
Warren G. Harding was born in 1865 in Ohio, the son of a farmer who later became a
homeopathic doctor. He went to Ohio Central College where he graduated at the age of 19.
Harding then became the co-owner and publisher of the Marion, Ohio, Star, a newspaper
which was bankrupt at the time and was bought for $300. His tall, handsome figure easily
made him one of the most popular citizens of Marion, Ohio, and he became an important man
in that city. He married Florence Kling DeWolfe, the daughter of a rich local banker. Gifted as
an orator, he began his climb on the political ladder as a state senator in 1898. He then
became Lieutenant Governor of Ohio, but lost the election of 1810 in his bid to become the
state’s governor. One of his admirers, Harry Daugherty, began to promote Harding as a
possible candidate for the presidency. When the Republican convention of 1910 became
locked in without a candidate, Harding emerged victorious and became a certain winner
against the hopeless Democratic Party, and he won, as expected, by a landslide.
Some of those he chose to serve as his advisors were indeed intelligent, honest and wellqualified. But he also gave friends positions in power who were neither knowledgeable nor
honest. This caused him to “stay awake at night.
as he once told Florence. He certainly
looked the role of a President, but he was a fun-loving, poker-playing man who was linked to
his friends called “The Ohio Gang” in more than one incident of corruption and misdeed.
Following the Teapot Dome scandal, he and his wife began a trek across America to restore
public image. The trip, called “Voyage of Understanding,” proved too taxing on President
Harding, and he collapsed and died on August 2, while in San Francisco. The full extent of
the oil scandals (Teapot Dome) were not known, and it was just as well that Harding, when
he died, did not know the full extent of the corruption and dishonesty of some of his friends.
.
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WARREN Q. HARDIN
Name
Presidential Trivia
1. Warren G. Harding always referred to his middle name with the initial G. What did the
letter G stand for?____________________________
2. What was Warren G. Harding’s campaign slogan in the election of 1920?
3. The most widespread incident of scandal during the Warren G. Harding administration
was referred to as the
4. The nickname Warren G. Harding used when referring to his wife Florence
5. Who was the Ohio political strategist who helped Warren G. Harding more than anyone
else
becom
e
Presid
ent?
6. Who ran unsuccessfully as the Democratic Vice Presidential candidate in the electio
n of
1920?
7. The poker-playing, fun-loving, often corrupt cronies of Warren G. Harding were refer
red to as “The_______________________________
8. In 1923, Warren and Florence Harding began a trip across America designed to restore
faith in the Harding administration. It was called the”
9. One of Harding’s successful appointments was that of Secretary of State—a man who
was both honest and politically popuIr. In fact, he had almost won the presidency from
Woodrow Wilson in 1916.
10. Who was Warren G. Harding’s Democratic opponent in the election of 1920?
11. What was the name of the train on which Warren G. Harding was traveling when he col
lapsed
and
eventu
ally
died?
12. This man served as Warren G. Harding’s Secretary of Commerce and would later
become President of the United States.
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WARREN C. !ARDINQ
Name
For Thinking and Discussing
1.
Why was the election of Warren G. Harding almost a sure thing once he won the
Republican nomination for President?
2.
What was the Teapot Dome affair?
3.
Warren G. Harding once said that he enjoyed being a member of the United States
Senate, but was “pushed into the presidency.” Who were these guiding forces that
placed him in the White House?
4.
History frowns on the administration of Warren G. Harding, citing him as one of our
weakest Presidents. What was there about his administration that led to this conclusion?
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